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Chapter 5 · Action in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness · 29 verses

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Remember who is speaking. Kṛṣṇa is speaking. Take the verse as He directs.
  2. 2Say the verse and its words. Read the Sanskrit, then each word with its meaning.
  3. 3Read the translation as it is. Let the translation say what it says, without adding your own meaning.
  4. 4Read the purport. Hear the verse through the disciplic succession.
  5. 5Bring your own question. Ask: where does this verse meet my life, my trouble, my doubt?
  6. 6Act on it, remembering Kṛṣṇa. Carry one instruction into your work today.
Read the full guide: how to read the Bhagavad-gītā ›
Questions & crisisChapter 5 · Action in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness
4.425.2

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 5.1

Arjuna questions renunciation and action

Karma · Action

अर्जुन उवाच

सन्न्यासं कर्मणां कृष्ण पुनर्योगं च शंससि ।

यच्छ्रेय एतयोरेकं तन्मे ब्रूहि सुनिश्चितम् ॥ १ ॥

arjuna uvāca

sannyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ kṛṣṇa

punar yogaṁ ca śaṁsasi

yac chreya etayor ekaṁ

tan me brūhi su-niścitam

Translation

Arjuna said: O Kṛṣṇa, first of all You ask me to renounce work, and then again You recommend work with devotion. Now will You kindly tell me definitely which of the two is more beneficial?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

3 study points

Renunciation or Devotional Work?

  1. 1

    Arjuna asks Kṛṣṇa which is better: giving up work or working with devotion.

  2. 2

    Prabhupāda explains that devotional service is better and easier than dry mental speculation because it frees one from reactions to work.

  3. 3

    Rather than simply stopping work, work in devotion with full knowledge.

Key points from the purport

Arjuna asks question, “What is better and more beneficial?” ‘Work’ and ‘renunciation’ appears incompatible

Text 5.1 purport mentions that ‘work in devotion’ is easier than ‘dry mental speculation’. Because

It is transcendental in nature and thus,

It frees one from all reactions

PLEASE NOTE — The remaining points of the purport are mentioned in the Connection between Chapter 4 and 5 above

Further reading

Niskama-Karma-Yoga – Easier Than Renouncing Work

Arjuna again asks whether renouncing work is superior to working with detachment

Krishna replies

Both are equal in the sense that both are means to the same goal

Emphasizes working with detachment as easier and superior

Chapter 5, section I: Niskama-Karma-Yoga – Easier Than Renouncing Work
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. arjunaḥ uvācaArjuna said
  2. sannyāsamrenunciation
  3. karmaṇāmof all activities
  4. kṛṣṇaO Kṛṣṇa
  5. punaḥagain
  6. yogamdevotional service
  7. caalso
  8. śaṁsasiYou are praising
3

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: saṁśaya, viṣāda.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 5.1 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to questions & crisis?

Practice

Write down the real question behind your current dilemma.

5

The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 5 ›
6

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 1.28Compassion entangled with attachmentBG 1.46The bow falls
Live this todayServing Kṛṣṇa, Caring for AllA practice from BG 5.7, close to this verse

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 4 of 9 · 10 minChapters & storiesGo chapter by chapter, with the Mahābhārata stories that explain what is happening.Back · LearnPrabhupāda's Introduction